About Wish For Our Heroes

"GRANTING WISHES, ONE HERO AT A TIME”

Our Mission

WISH for OUR HEROES (W4OH) is a national 501(c)(3), dedicated to assisting the men and women of the United States active-duty military, and in some cases, Veterans.

Military life is difficult – men and women selflessly serve our nation, while working for little pay, putting their lives on the line, and dealing with the secondary affects that can tear families apart. WISH for OUR HEROES wanted to provide resources to the “average” military member, in order to make their deployments a little easier, and to improve the quality of their family lives while home or during deployment.

WISH for OUR HEROES started with the goal of providing one wish for every deserving military member. There are no requirements – military members simply had to be on active-duty at the time the wish is submitted. The priority is to always grant basic needs or emergencies first – anything from putting food on the table to assisting with car repairs, home repairs, baby supplies, clothing, etc. When basic needs are met, W4OH also enjoys providing fun things like sending the troops to athletic events, sending them on vacation to get re-acquainted after deployments, meeting celebrities and more. You can view a sampling of some of the wishes WISH for OUR HEROES has granted by viewing the news pages or visiting the wishes page.

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Millions Raised

States Served

Administrative Ratio

Wish at a Time

Helping Heroes $1 at a Time

WISH for OUR HEROES launched in November of 2009, in honor of 1SG Thomas G. Wells, who was a career Marine. The founders of WISH for OUR HEROES served on active-duty and while deployed, they recognized that a serious need existed within our military ranks. There were so many great charities in existence, but the majority of them focused on specific groups or categories (wounded, etc). There were no charities that focused on not only helping military members falling into these extreme categories, but also helping the average, hard-working military member going through a difficult time. WISH for OUR HEROES saw the toll that war takes on families back home, and decided to create a charity to assist military families with basic necessities: food, shelter, transportation, child needs, medical expenses (not covered). Small issues can spiral into larger issues, and larger issues can spiral into things like divorce, suicide, and all of those problems our military members face as a result of daily military life.

When the charity started, the founders began taking donations at stoplights and collecting $1 at a time to assist our heroes. Money was donated, and then WISH for OUR HEROES would utilize the funds to grant a wish. Then they would raise more money, and grant more wishes. Over time, other people learned about the mission of W4OH and wanted to get involved. Those people told other people, and the W4OH network began to grow. No money was spent on marketing… just a wonderful group of people who wanted to give something back to our heroes. Now W4OH has a very large network of volunteers across the country who have dedicated their lives to making sure our military families have what they need.

Today, WISH for OUR HEROES is a national 501(c)(3) that grants wishes across the globe. Through 2015, WISH for OUR HEROES has provided more than $10 million in assistance to our heroes. With chapters in Texas, Indiana, Florida, Arizona, and Colorado, and a network of volunteers across the country, W4OH has granted at least one wish in 48 out of 50 states. W4OH has partnered with many corporations to inch closer to its ultimate goal of granting one wish for every deserving member of our U.S. military. Individuals or corporations who would like to become sponsors to assist military families can choose from multiple ways to contribute. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization, and we encourage anyone who may be interested to register as a volunteer.

What Makes Us Different?

Accountability

We are 100% accountable to our donors with a level of transparency unlike any other organization. That means, if you or your company donate, we can provide a report indicating exactly where your money is distributed, so your donation is always transparent to you. In addition, all wish requests are verified by our committee to ensure that true hardships are being addressed. Wishes are granted with a very quick turnaround, ensuring your donation goes directly to where it can provide the most benefit.

Meeting Everyday Needs

What makes us different from other military charities? Through the granting of wishes, we assist the everyday active military member to relieve hardships that are often a result of military life. We do not issue cash grants. Instead, we focus on the daily needs and specific requests that can help to improve the lives of our military personnel and their families. Regardless of time or financial situation, truly ANYONE CAN HELP us meet our goal of granting wishes for every member of our active-duty military.

Making the Most of Your Contribution

WISH for OUR HEROES leads the way by making the most of your contribution. 100% of individual donations, and an astounding 95% of corporate donations, go directly toward granting wishes. Only 5% of corporate donations fund our administrative costs, surpassing the non-profit gold standard. All wishes are thoroughly screened, then reviewed by our wish committee, before determining approval.

Putting Dollars Where They Count Most

One of differentiating factors that sets W4OH apart from other charities is our administrative ratio (admin & fundraising costs divided by total revenue). The gold standard for charities is to operate at 90%, meaning 10% goes to administrative and fundraising costs, and the remaining amount goes where funds are truly needed. Most of the better-known charities realistically operate at 70-80%, so up to 30% of the funds they bring in, is actually distributed other places – salaries, elaborate events, ad campaigns, etc. W4OH operates at 96%, which is unheard of, particularly for a young organization.

W4OH has only one paid employee – every other team member is a volunteer, and our volunteers are very generous with the time they donate to better W4OH (990 and 501(c)(3) documentation can be downloaded here.

Combined Federal Campaign

WISH for OUR HEROES has been a proud member of the Federal Government’s official charity program, the COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN (CFC) since 2010. For those not familiar with the CFC, to be included an organization has to undergo an annual series of audits and other government-mandated procedures. The CFC number for WISH for OUR HEROES is #51938.